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Mavericks try to rebound from blowout loss

Dec 21, 2008 - 8:21 AM Dallas (14-11) at Washington (4-20), 6:00pm EST

WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Coming off their worst loss of the season, the Dallas Mavericks will try to rebound Sunday as they continue their road trip against the lowly Washington Wizards.

In its last outing, Dallas got a rude awakening in the form of former Maverick Devin Harris, who torched his old team to the tune of 41 points and 13 assists en route to a 121-97 New Jersey Nets victory on Friday.

Now the Mavericks square off against a desperate Washington team that has dropped five straight. Oddly enough, the Mavs have struggled against desperate teams lately. They squeaked past the Charlotte Bobcat by five points on December 11, then were taken to the brink by the Oklahoma City Thunder two nights later.

Still, they've managed to survive those tests. The Wizards, however, haven't provided much of a test for anyone. With just four wins, they look sure to miss the postseason for the first time since the 2003-04 campaign. During their current five-game skid, their losses have come by an average margin of 17.8 points.

The only non-blowout over that span was Friday's loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler combined for 43 points and 17 boards, but the Sixers - who were without injured star forward Elton Brand - dominated the final quarter to pick up the victory.